Cash Drawers

Know where every dollar of cash is. SSP tracks each cash drawer from the opening float to the final count, shows you which drawers are open right now, and asks a manager to sign off when a count doesn't match.

Overview

With cash drawers you can:

• 💵 Start every shift from a counted opening float
• 🧾 Tie each cash payment and cash refund to the drawer it went in or out of
• 🙈 Have staff count their drawer without seeing what the system expects (blind close)
• ⚖️ Compare the count with what the drawer should hold, and see the difference (the variance)
• ✅ Sign off on variances outside your tolerance, with a note
• 📊 See cash on your End of Shift and End of Day reports

Where each part happens:

Who	App	What they do
Servers, cashiers, bartenders	SSP Waiter	Open their drawer with a float, take cash, hand over, count and close. See Cash Drawer in SSP Waiter.
Managers	SSP Manager	Watch open drawers, review counts and variances, sign off, close a drawer someone left open, and set the rules for the location.

How cash is kept at your location

Each location uses one of two cash models. You choose it in the location's cash settings.

Cash model	How it works	Suits
Server banking	Each server holds their own cash (their "bank") for the shift and closes it at the end.	Table service, where servers take cash at the table
Shared till	Staff take cash into a till at the counter. Whoever opens the drawer is responsible for it until they close it or hand it over.	Counter service and quick-service

New locations start with the model that matches their service type: table service uses server banking, and counter or quick-service uses a shared till. You can change it at any time; the change applies from the next drawer opened.

A shift with a cash drawer

1. Open: when a staff member who handles cash clocks in, SSP Waiter asks for their opening float. The location's standard float is filled in, and they confirm what they actually have.
2. Take cash: each cash payment records the amount the guest handed over and shows the change due. It counts toward that person's open drawer.
3. Hand over (optional): if someone else takes over the drawer mid-shift, both count it first and the drawer moves to the new person.
4. Close: at the end of the shift the staff member counts the drawer, by denomination or as a single total, and submits it.
5. Clock out: staff can't clock out while their drawer is open. They close it or hand it over first.
6. Review: SSP compares the count with what the drawer should hold. Differences within your tolerance are accepted automatically. Anything larger waits for a manager's sign-off.

Viewing cash drawers

Navigation Prerequisite

You must first navigate to a specific restaurant location. For restaurant groups/chains, select your location from the Group/Chain Dashboard first.

Navigation Path: [Your Location] → Operations → Cash

Open drawers

The top of the page lists every drawer open right now:

Column	What it shows
Staff member	Who holds the drawer
Opened	When it was opened
Opening float	The counted float

The location dashboard also shows a Cash tile with the number of open drawers and a badge when variances are waiting for your sign-off.

Drawer history

Below the open drawers is the history for the location. Pick a date range to see every drawer opened in it. Select a drawer to see:

• Who opened it and when, and the opening float
• Who closed it and when
• The counted amount
• Expected: what the drawer should hold (the opening float, plus cash payments, minus cash refunds)
• Variance: counted minus expected. A positive number means over, a negative number means short.
• Notes from the person who closed it and from the manager who signed off
• Any handovers, with the count at each

Signing off on a variance

A variance outside your location's tolerance stays Awaiting sign-off until a manager reviews it.

1. Open Operations → Cash and select the drawer (or use the badge on the dashboard's Cash tile).
2. Review the count, the expected amount and the variance.
3. Add a note explaining the difference, for example "$5 given as change twice at table 12".
4. Click Approve, or Flag to mark it for follow-up.

Both the closer's note and yours are kept. Variances inside the tolerance are accepted automatically but still recorded, so a pattern of small shortages is still visible.

Repeated small shortages

SSP flags a staff member whose small shortages keep coming back, even when each one is inside the tolerance. Check the drawer history for that person before the next shift.

Required: sign-off is available in SSP Manager only, and needs a full sign-in. It isn't available in a PIN session on a shared tablet.

Closing a drawer someone left open

If a staff member leaves without closing their drawer:

1. Open Operations → Cash and select the open drawer.
2. Click Force close.
3. Enter a reason, for example "Staff member left early, drawer counted by manager tomorrow". A reason is required.

A force-closed drawer has no count, so it's marked Unreconciled and appears on the End of Day report until it's resolved. Like sign-off, force close needs a full sign-in in SSP Manager.

Location cash settings

Navigation Path: [Your Location] → Settings → General → Cash (next to Opening Hours)

Setting	What it does	Default
Cash model	Server banking or shared till (see above)	From your service type
Standard opening float	The amount pre-filled when a drawer is opened	None
Variance tolerance	Differences inside this amount are accepted automatically; larger ones wait for sign-off	$2.00 (₹100 in India, MX$40 in Mexico)
Blind close	Staff and floor managers don't see the expected amount or the variance when they close. Location and chain managers always do.	On

Cash on your reports

• End of Shift: the staff member's drawer for that shift, including the opening float, cash payments, cash refunds and the count. Managers also see expected and variance.
• End of Day: every drawer opened that day, with totals for floats, counts, expected cash and variance. Drawers awaiting sign-off and unreconciled drawers are flagged.

See Reports.

Who can do what

Action	Where	Roles
Open, close and hand over their own drawer	SSP Waiter	Wait Staff, Cashier, Floor Manager, Location Manager
Take cash payments	SSP Waiter	Anyone who can take payments
See open drawers	SSP Manager	Cashier, Floor Manager, Location Manager, Accounting, Chain Manager
See drawer history	SSP Manager	Floor Manager, Location Manager, Accounting, Chain Manager
See expected cash and variance	SSP Manager	Location Manager, Chain Manager
See the day's cash summary	SSP Manager	Location Manager, Accounting, Chain Manager
Sign off on variances	SSP Manager	Location Manager, Chain Manager
Force-close a drawer	SSP Manager	Location Manager
Change location cash settings	SSP Manager	Location Manager

Organization Admins can do everything. You can adjust any of this per person under Employee Management.

Best practices

• Count the float in front of someone at the start of the shift, and use the same standard float every day.
• Keep blind close on. People who can see the expected amount tend to count to it.
• Sign off the same day, while the shift is still fresh in everyone's mind.
• Hand over with a count. Handing over counts the drawer at that moment, so each person is responsible only for their own part of the shift.
• Look at patterns, not single variances. One $3 short is a mistake. The same $3 every Friday is worth a conversation.

Troubleshooting

"Close your cash drawer before clocking out"

The staff member still has an open drawer. They close it in SSP Waiter (or hand it over), then clock out. If they've already left, a manager can force close it.

A drawer is short and nobody knows why

Open the drawer in the history and check its cash refunds and handovers. A refund taken from the drawer lowers what it should hold. Then add a note when you sign off so the reason is on record.

A staff member can't open a drawer

Check their role has the open drawer permission, and that they're clocked in at this location.

Related Features

• Reports: End of Shift and End of Day
• Attendance Tracking: clock in and clock out
• Employee Management: roles and permissions
• Location Settings
• Cash Drawer in SSP Waiter

Getting Help

Need assistance with cash drawers?

• 📧 Email: support@ssppos.com